Ohio State dominates Rutgers: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

In a game that produced plenty of points, zero penalties, and a near shutout, the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in primetime on Saturday night in New Jersey, 49-7. Like every week, there were plenty of good, bad, and ugly — not so much the latter two this week — from the game. Let’s look into the demolition of the Big Ten’s newest inhabitant:

The Good

J.T. Barrett

The sophomore was nothing short of impressive in his first start of 2015, and won Big Ten offensive Player of the Week honors for his effort. Barrett completed 14-of-18 pass attempts for 223 yards and three touchdowns and also had 13 carries for 101 yards and two scores.

The offense has looked much better with No. 16 at quarterback. Barrett has accounted for 12 touchdowns in the past three games (seven rushing, five passing) and has rushed for over 100 yards two games in a row.

Ezekiel Elliott

No matter who is the starting quarterback, Zeke continues to do what he does best: dominate. Elliott ran for over 100 yards for the 13th consecutive game (best in FBS), earning himself a spot on the “Good” list for the eighth consecutive week. Against Rutgers he had 19 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns, adding three catches for 29 yards.

Elliott eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in just eight games this season, the second straight year in which he has run for over 1,000 yards (and third straight by an Ohio State running back). Zeke’s 13 rushing touchdowns have been for an average of 28.5 yards per score.

Michael Thomas

Thomas proved yet again why he is Ohio State’s top receiver and one of the best wideouts in the country on Saturday. Racking up five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown (a 50-yard score that included a stiff arm), the junior has now caught a pass in 24 consecutive games and has a Big Ten-best six touchdown receptions in 2015.

Braxton Miller

He didn’t score, but Miller once again brought a different dimension to Ohio State’s offense Saturday night. Totaling two catches for 55 yards and one carry for 16 yards, including a superb catch when the senior kept his concentration and somehow kept the possession of the ball while falling to the ground, Miller opened things up for the offense Saturday night.

Curtis Samuel

Samuel had just one catch against Rutgers, but that one catch went for a touchdown after he made a nifty move to get open. The backup running back — and now receiver as well — has turned into yet another playmaker for the Buckeyes.

Jalin Marshall

On a very weird play that included a pop pass¹ to Barrett from Marshall, the receiver acted like he was trying to throw the ball — even though it would have been a penalty because of the forward pass — and ran in for an easy touchdown. Per NEOMG’s Ari Wasserman, the play was supposed to be a handoff to Marshall and then a pass to Michael Thomas, but Barrett’s toss forward necessitated some improvisation on Marshall’s part.

Joey Bosa

Bosa has been disruptive all season and has proven that he is one of the top defensive linemen in the country, and he had a big game in primetime against Rutgers. The junior had three tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss Saturday night. His sack gave him 24.5 in his 36-game career, tying him for most among active players in FBS with Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun.

Raekwon McMillan

He had seven tackles — no sacks, forced fumbles, or interceptions — but those seven tackles were a team-high. The sophomore has been a steady force on defense, leading the Buckeyes in tackles in almost every game.

Gareon Conley

In by far the best game of his young career, Conley totaled five tackles, one interception, and a blocked punt against the Scarlet Knights. His interception in the third quarter was the second of his career.

Offensive line

The big guys up front played well for the second consecutive game. They not only opened holes in the run game for both Barrett and Elliott, but also gave Barrett plenty of time in the pocket. It isn’t a coincidence that the offense has thrived because of two superb performances by the guys that they like to call “the slobs.”

Third- and Fourth-down offense

When you convert 5-of-10 third-down and 2-of-3 fourth-down opportunities, your offense is doing very well.

Third-down defense

The Silver Bullets allowed Rutgers to convert just 5-of-15 third-downs. While dominating on the scoreboard, the defense proved that they can be one of the best in the country when they need to be.

Red-zone offense

Twice the Buckeyes came away scoreless inside the 20, but on the other four tries they had four touchdowns. If the Buckeyes can score a touchdown on 67 percent of their red-zone opportunities the rest of the season, I think they will be in very good shape, especially if the other 33 percent is filled with field goals.

The Bad

Second-string defense

THEY GAVE UP THE SHUTOUT WITH 13 SECONDS LEFT! But seriously, although a shutout would have been awesome, it was nice to see some second- and third-string players that don’t normally see the field get some playing time Saturday night.

The Ugly

Cameron Johnston

For the first time this season, one of the best punters in the country has landed on the “Ugly” list. In his lone punt of the game, he punted it just 29 yards, unusually poor for the Australian. Johnston can usually be leaned on to give the opposition poor field position, and I’m sure that will continue following his bad punt against Rutgers Saturday night.

1. A short forward pass functionally similar to a handoff. [↩]